


The Palm of Your Hand

by GrimDoll



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And maybe a tiny bit angst?, But it you ship if hey you, Drabble, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I mean, Implied Relationship, M/M, One Shot, They don't do anything romantic, imagine them as close friends if you don't ship it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 11:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7712572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimDoll/pseuds/GrimDoll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shiro's palm used to be ticklish, but then they changed it to a metal arm and gave him ptsd. </p>
<p>Just a prompt I liked that turned in to a short drabble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Palm of Your Hand

Time went by fast, and all of a sudden there was only one more week before Shiro leaves to Kerberos. It felt like only yesterday had Keith showed up at the Garrison and all of a sudden he had to say goodbye to the most important person to him in this place.  
This was, probably, nothing compared to what Shiro was feeling. It was after all a pretty important mission. The young cadet was probably selfish to only focus on himself; but even so, this is what he did.

He had already snuck out of his room and found his way outside, to where he and Shiro were supposed to meet. He slipped next to the famed pilot, only letting out a soft "Hey" as he laid down next to the older man.  
An hour has passed before they started talking.

"So…" Keith opened. "One more week"  
"Yeah".  
Keith flinched, that was barely a response. He signed before he tried again. "You think there's something out there?"  
"I…" He could hear Shiro shifting his weight besides him. "I don't know".  
"Hey-", the young cadet turned around to the side and rose slightly to rest his chin on his hand; that way he could glance over at the other's face, "Don't tell me Shiro, mister 'super pilot' is scared".  
Shiro kept his eyes in the stars above them as he answered.  
"Maybe".

His eyebrows shot up. Well, that was genuinely surprising. Keith had seen Shiro be a lot of things- but never really scared. Shiro, noticing his dumbfounded expression, shifted in his place again and turned his face away.  
Keith squinted, scanning the pilots face for a long moment before something inside clicked, and he knew what to do. The younger man let out a short "Then don't be" and sent out his index finger to draw a small circle on the other's palm, before Shiro could catch hold of this. The expected result wasn't late to come, as Shiro jumped in his place and pulled his hand to his chest. He let out a small laugh before a smile was left lingering on his lips.  
"It tickles!" he cried out.  
  
As always, this little trick never failed Keith in his attempts to make Shiro smile. Thank god for his ticklish palm. The young cadet smirked.  
"I know," he nodded, "that's why I keep doing it".

 

\---

Turned out this was the last quiet moment they shared. After that night, Shiro was busy preparing for his mission. Between practices, briefings, packing and Keith's own classes, it became almost impossible to spend time together.  
After that Shiro was off to Kerberos.

And then he was gone.  
Through the course of one year the world turned itself upside down. Everything changed for Keith; and when Shiro was somehow, finally, back from the dead, the young man turned from cadet to a dropout. All of a sudden there were aliens that wanted to destroy everything, and before they even got to talk it out they were standing in front of a blue lion and sent in through a wormhole to the other side of space.

It's not like Keith never imagined Shiro coming back, but it was never quite like this. Even the famed pilot himself seemed different than he remembered. Yeah there was white hair and a robot arm; but almost immediately it became obvious that the change in Shiro was much deeper. And the newly Red Paladin wasn't sure how to react to that.

 

\---

Three days have passed since they got to the castle and collected their lions until Keith finally found the other alone, lying outside and staring at the skies. For a moment, a calm smile appeared on the teen's face. This was almost like the old times. He sneaked quietly to lay next to Shiro, greeted only with a slight hum as he had done so.   
And that was enough.  
At least for the first few minutes. But then he looked over at the other and saw that behind the gaze Shiro seemed… worried, maybe even scared. It was a look he kept hidden for the past three days, and Keith felt like he was looking at something he wasn't invited to see.   

Just like one year ago, the Red Paladin did not like seeing Shiro like this, and just like one year ago, he set up to change it. But… could he? After all this time? He chewed on his lower lip for a long moment before beating himself inside his mind for being stupid. It wasn't just some nobody- it was Shiro. He already knew what to do.

He lent out his hand to draw a tiny circle on the other's palm.  
But he couldn't even complete half of it before realizing he wasn't touching skin. With a sharp gasp Shiro jumped up quickly, bringing his alien arm to Keith's neck before he could comprehend what he was doing.

And for the first time in his life, Keith was afraid of the other. For a moment he felt like Shiro could just… kill him without even batting an eye, without realizing it was him.  
  
"A- I- I'm Sor-" he started mumbling, only to get cut off as Shiro seemed to understand what he had done. The Black Paladin's body loosed before his facial expression changed to something on the line between shame and distress.  
"No! Don't be- I almost-", he sighed before turning his face away and covering his eyes with one hand. "Oh god… I'm so sorry".  
  
It was almost too much, wasn't it? How could he just make things worse? Keith held back a sigh before forcing half a smile.  
"Hey… it's ok".  
So much have changed. Too much. For the both of them. Probably more than he could understand right now. He moved his hand again, this time catching Shiro's own hand and intertwining their fingers together.

"I'm still here".

He could feel the light squeeze against his palm. And Shiro finally sent a soft smile as the Red Paladin squeezed back.  


End file.
